


I don't dance

by DarkGothicLolita



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crack, Crack Relationships, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26289550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkGothicLolita/pseuds/DarkGothicLolita
Summary: Juvia has been crushing on Gray ever since she moved schools, but can the school's hot head make her dance to a different beat, even though he claims he can't or won't dance?
Relationships: Evergreen/Elfman Strauss, Hibiki Lates/Jenny Realight, Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet, Laxus Dreyar/Laki Olietta, Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox, Lucy Heartfilia/Loke, Natsu Dragneel/Juvia Lockser, Zeref Dragneel/Mavis Vermillion
Comments: 10
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter one

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!
> 
> So I started this story ages ago and basically took a big hiatus (I believe like 2 years) and now that I've come back to it, I've started editing and rewriting it while still posting my latest chapters on fanfiction. I decided to also upload it here! This version will definitely be the more updated version!
> 
> Me, own Fairy Tail? Absolutely not.

This must be a dream come true! This is the moment I’ve been waiting for! I mean, I love dance and dance class, but when I set my eyes on my crush being here, I knew that this was going to be a class to love! Although I was a little skeptical at first because the Queen bee, the girl that everyone loves, Lucy Heartfilia was also going to be in this class and I had the sneaky suspicion that Gray was in love with her, I just had to think of ways to woo him.

Making him bentos was one, watching his every move was another. My best friend, Gajeel-kun had told me that stalking him was a little too much.  _ “If he finds out that you stalk him, he’ll put a restraining order on you, so stop being creepy.”  _ Okay so maybe what Gajeel had said was true, but sometimes it wasn’t on purpose! Sometimes he was where I was going and it was just a coincidence...sometimes...

So when Gray said he couldn’t be at the showcase, my whole world came crashing down. Was it because of me? Oh no, he found out about my stalking and he was creeped out! Luckily, Lucy had asked and his answer wasn’t any of the above. “Nah, it’s just that my Aunt Ur has died after battling cancer for about a year. It’s her funeral that night.” Everyone began comforting him even though he clearly didn’t want it. I pushed through them all, sad that he wouldn’t be able to dance with me, but sad about his Aunt. I couldn’t be selfish here.

“Juvia is sorry to hear about that Gray-sama. Juvia sends her condolences.” He just shrugged at me with a quick ‘thank you’ before he fell into Lucy’s hug as she consoled him. My eyes fell down to the ground. Any other time and this would have sparked fire within me to remove her from his hold, but it was clear as day now. I had been trying for the past two years ever since I had transferred here but every time I wanted to confess to him, he never gave me the time of day. Plus he called me creepy, and not just on one occasion too.

I just sighed and turned my back before the dance teacher called me over. “It would seem like you have to find a new dance partner and maybe even try a new dance.” My eyes widened. 

“But Mira-sensei! The only dance that Juvia knows is ‘The winter’ dance and that was better done with Gray-sama! Juvia will just drop out of the dance.” I flinched. Dropping out of a class wasn’t something I did. I saw the woman’s eyes flash at me.

“I’m afraid that if you quit the dance production, then you fail the class.” I flinched. I hated failing. I liked my good grades and if I failed this class, then Levy would beat me this year and I have to do whatever she wants me to do for her for a week. I knew that meant that I was going to have to find a new dance partner, but the showcase was in three days time. I didn’t have enough time to start looking for someone and everyone was already paired up.

I sighed with a simple nod. “Fine, Juvia will find someone.” But who? My mistake was that I didn’t bother getting to know many people because I was so hung up on Gray.

I took in a deep breath. When I turned back around, Lucy was in front of me and I almost stumbled backwards. I gave her a subtly annoyed look as though I didn’t have time for her. I know that everyone liked her, but I wasn’t just ‘everyone’. She annoyed me to the core with her overflowing happiness and her good looks. She also wasn’t stupid either. She was smart, beautiful and likeable. She was my exact opposite.

“I have a friend that would be able to dance with you! I mean, it may have been a while since he danced, but he’s extremely talented!” My spirits were lifted completely as I thanked her. She laughed and said not to worry as she gave me her friend’s number before jumping over to Gray and her dance partner, Loke. Seeing her bounce back over to Gray made my dislike for her come back.

I stared at the number in my hand and rolled my eyes. Probably an ex-boyfriend of hers no doubt. So while everyone was rehearsing, I left seeing as I didn’t have a partner to dance with and Gray was just sitting at the side waiting for Loke and Lucy to finish up. I got out into the hallway and saw that there was no one at school, only a few people in detention. Then I dialled the number.

The guy answered on the third ring and he sounded annoyed. “Hey! I’m in detention! Just be lucky that there’s no teacher in here, otherwise I’ll find you and hurt you for getting my phone taken away.” He sounded really angry, but almost like he was relieved that I called, as though he was bored out of his mind. Even though I couldn’t picture the person talking to me, I took a note of how attractive their voice sounded. It was quite deep, but also very familiar.

He sighed when he realised that I wasn’t talking. “Anyway, who is this?” 

I swallowed the dry lump in my throat.

“Th-this is Juvia, Lucy-san gave Juvia your number. But who is this? Lucy didn’t tell Juvia.” The guy on the other end of the line chuckled softly and my heart was fluttering. I scowled at myself. Was I really this easy? How could I be attracted to someone’s  _ voice _ ? I knew I had a problem, but I didn’t know it was this bad. Just because I was slowly giving up on Gray doesn’t mean that I was completely over him, yet I felt like I was cheating on him, EVEN IF WE WEREN’T GOING OUT!

“You’re funny Juvia. This is Natsu.” 

Then the illusion died down. NATSU?! Was Lucy seriously playing a bad prank on me? Why did she think that Natsu could dance, talk less of wanting him to dance with  _ me _ ? Okay, so maybe I’ve never in my life spoken to him, but I’ve heard of him through Gajeel and I’ve heard that he gets in a hell of a lot of fights, more than Gajeel has ever started which is a lot! I think that the difference between the two of them was that Gajeel looked scary. If someone started a fight with Gajeel, it was like planning a death wish. 

“But Lucy’s got it all wrong. I don’t dance. Never have and I never will, so sorry Juvia, you might have to find yourself a new partner.” I thought he would hang right up, but I could still hear him softly breathing on the other end of the line. I guess he was waiting for a reply. 

It wasn’t like I was disappointed in him. From the moment he told me who he was, all my expectations had been thrown into the bin anyway. 

“Oh, then Juvia is sorry for disturbing Natsu-san.” He laughed again which set off butterflies in my stomach, no matter how much I tried to kill them off with the thought of the guy talking to me was Natsu.

“That’s fine. Just tell Luce I said no. Maybe I’ll even see you around.” Then the line went dead. He said he’ll ‘see you around.’ I don’t know why that made me feel like squealing, but I wanted to. Then I thought of Gray and his Aunt and I became depressed once again. No one could ever replace Gray! I’ll make sure he loves me!

I didn't even believe in myself anymore.

~x~

“He said no?! He was supposed to say YES! Ugh, what is wrong with that boy?” 

I shrugged. Was I supposed to know that? Lucy looked really angry. Then her face softened. "I guess it was expected. I shouldn’t have expected him to say yes.” Something happened? Judging by the look on her face, there was more to Natsu than what meets the eye, but I knew more than well enough that I wasn’t going to be told. I’d never spoken to him face to face for crying out loud!

“I’m sorry Juvia, I’ve let you down.” I smiled, shaking my head. It wasn’t really her fault. I’m surprised that she was even talking to me considering my obvious dislike for her.,

“It’s fine, Juvia will find a partner herself.” She smiled, obviously thinking that I liked her before I turned on my heels and walked out of the hall again, only this time I was going home. I rolled my eyes when I thought of Lucy. She could get any guy she wanted, yet why did it have to be my guy?!

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I got round a corner and almost flew into someone, only to have that person sidestep out of the way. I stumbled a little bit before catching myself. “Woah, sorry there, didn’t see you until the last minute.” My eyes widened as I straightened up. That voice was awfully familiar. I didn’t really want to turn around in case I was wrong, but he called out my name which made me stiffen.

“Yo, Juvia? You okay?”

I turned on my heel and gasped softly. I met a guy with onyx black eyes, soft pink hair that although it was messy, it really suited him. He looked to be about the same height as Gray, but with the lack of his school blazer, I could tell he was probably just as ripped too. It took everything in my power not to let my jaw drop. 

“Natsu?”

He nodded with a big grin on his face. “That’s me.”

He seemed to eye me up and down and I suddenly felt self conscious, wanting to bury myself into the wall. I wasn’t really known for my looks, most probably because I didn’t have any. That was reserved for Lucy, Jenny and even Erza. There were many other beautiful girls in the school and I was waiting for the look of disgust to wash over Nastu’s face. 

“Wow, a beautiful voice for a beautiful girl, right?” 

I blinked at him before my face was on fire. I was so not expecting a compliment, talk less of being called beautiful! I had never received a compliment like that before, it was always along the lines of how smart I was. I wanted to melt into a puddle right now.

“E-er, why um-er, thank you...” He laughed again. 

“I’m guessing you’re not used to compliments?” I nodded, suddenly feeling shy. He grinned before we started walking out of the school together. Then it was like his happy go lucky exterior was lost and he sighed while running his hand through his hair. I looked over at him wondering what had just gone wrong in the last 30 seconds.

“Look, I know that you care a lot about dance and I’m probably the best candidate for your dance partner, but I just can’t.”

I nodded, sighing as well. Clearly, Natsu had been in the dance class before. Maybe before I had joined the school. There was no way Lucy would recommend him to be my partner if he has no experience in dancing. Even now, he was admitting that he’s probably the best candidate to dance with me. 

“Is it stage fright?”

He blinked before shaking his head. 

“Nah, not stage fright. Just bad memories. Really bad memories.” 

I flinched as I had probably brought back those bad memories. 

“Oh, Juvia is sorry. She didn’t mean to...” He laughed. 

“You? You didn’t do anything. It’s been over two years...People say I should get over it and hey, I might just have to! I might go home and sleep on the thought a bit more. I’m gonna guess that this is for the back to school dance showcase?”

I nodded my head and he looked like he was thinking about it deeply. 

“Okay. Like I said, I’ll sleep on the idea of it a bit more MAYBE I’ll change my mind and be your partner.”

I squealed in happiness at him thinking of changing his mind. If he did, he would have probably the nicest thing anyone at the school would have ever done for me. I took dance very seriously. I want to do it for college too.

“Thanks Natsu, you’re the best! Well Juvia has to get home now!” I waved at him while heading back to my house.

>Line Break<

I got home to see Gajeel talking with Levy in the front room. I smiled at the pair of them "Hi Levy-chan!"

Gajeel and I both lived together as siblings, seeing as we didn't have parents of our own and Levy was his girlfriend. Levy waved at me and I threw my bag lazily on the opposite couch. Levy was the only friend I had in that school. I hung out with the pair of them on many occasions, but I always felt like the third wheel. 

"You're home early. Did Gray ditch you?" Gajeel started laughing at his own joke and Levy slugged him in the shoulder. I just glared at him harshly. 

"No, he said that his Aunt died and that he won't be able to be at the showcase." Levy gasped and Gajeel just grunted.

"Ju-chan! You were so waiting for that dance! You practised so much for it and you were going to ask him out!" Levy left Gajeel to come and hug me and I smiled at her simply. My heart did hurt a bit, but I knew that this was probably for the best. Gray didn’t like me and it was time for me to understand that. 

"It's fine Levy-chan. Juvia has decided to get over Gray-sama and she will just have to find herself a new partner." 

Levy sighed as though she was relieved about something. I looked at her weirdly and Gajeel spoke for her. They clearly felt the same way. 

"Shrimp is just happy that you're no longer going to be hung up on that bastard. So am I. If he ever did give you the time of day, you'll end up heartbroken."

Levy looked like she was ashamed to admit it, but I just hugged her again. "Thank you for being such a good friend to Juvia. Although Juvia may have never listened, she's glad that you care about her being heartbroken one day."

Before she could reply, my phone went off. I excused myself before going out and up to my room. I saw the caller ID before I answered it. 

"Natsu?"

“Juvia...I’m sorry. I can’t do it...”

I gasped quietly. There was some sort of pain in his voice that made me want to ask him what was wrong. That was the worst part. Natsu and I weren’t friends. We didn’t know each other and I wasn’t able to ask him what the problem was. I may not have known Natsu, but what I knew of him was that he was loud, boisterous and crazy. His voice never cracked and it didn’t sound like he was about to cry.

To think that he was going to become my dance partner despite the memories it brought him. I couldn’t be selfish. I didn’t want him to feel bad because of me, so I sighed.

“Natsu-san, it’s okay. Please don’t worry yourself for Juvia.” Usually, I would have been worried about my grade, but I couldn’t care less right now. There would be many other showcases throughout the year where I would get to dance with a partner. I still had a few solo and group performances, so it’s not like it was all bad. I heard Natsu sigh.

"No, it's not fine. I can tell that you really wanted to do this dance and I'm letting you down. I’m really sorry, but I don’t think my sorry makes up for it." __

I giggled a little bit. "Natsu-san, it's fine. Juvia doesn’t want to force Natsu-san to do something that brings him nothing but bad memories. We may not be friends or anything, but Juvia knows how to be a decent human being. Please don’t worry about it." 

He sighed again and I waited patiently for him to answer. __

"Juvia, before you transferred to our school, I had a dance partner called Lisanna. But she died...From then on I haven't danced again. I just couldn't bring myself to do it without her." 

My heart was caught in my throat. That sounded so horrible! I even felt like crying into my phone. "Natsu-san shouldn't force himself okay? Juvia will be  _ fine _ ."

We were quite similar, stopping out favourite hobbies because of a death. It also made sense as to why Lucy suggested that he be my partner, but was also sad and understanding about him saying no. 

"Thanks Juvia you're the best. Maybe I’ll see you at school tomorrow."

“Yes, maybe. Bye.”

With that, we both hung up and I went on thinking about this Lisanna girl. It must have taken him a lot to tell me about her, but then again, the whole school probably already knew. I sighed deeply and I pushed my phone on the floor and sprawled out on my bed. I guess it wasn’t too bad. It would be hard trying to teach him a dance in three days.

>Line break<

I went into school early the next morning to tell Mira-sensei that I wasn’t able to find a partner, when I heard some music coming from the studio. It sounded like salsa music...No! That was tango! But no one was doing the tango in the dance production because it was an intense dance, so who the hell is that? I walked through to the dance hall and opened the door to see...

"Natsu-san?" He couldn't hear me. He looked like he was locked up in his own little world. Eventually he saw me in the mirrors and stopped dancing sharply. He turned to me and gulped. I stared at him in awe as he tried to laugh it off.

"Oh, hey Juvia, nice morning isn't it?" He was trying to divert my mind, but I wasn't falling for it. I was so excited watching him. He really was a good dancer! In fact, he had been really breathtaking to watch.

"Natsu-san really IS an amazing dancer, especially at the tango! Juvia can't tango to save her life!" His face went dark and I realised what I had just said. "Oh, Juvia is sorry Natsu-san!" Why was I such an idiot? Here I was saying I couldn’t save my life yet here he was with a dead friend. Am I really that heartless?

"It's okay. Maybe I can...Show you?" I looked up at him and he looked away, a small blushing settling on his cheeks. 

"Is Natsu-san sure? Juvia doesn't want to push Natsu-san into something he doesn’t want to do." He nodded his head at me and a new track began playing.

He started walking away from me and I followed the beat. I had  _ seen _ people tango, but I'd never done it myself. It didn't seem like my sort of dance, but more rather someone like Lucy. She was more open about her body than I was so it was perfect for her. It was hot and sexy and very fast with vigorous movements. Also, the dance was very intimate and sexual looking. That wasn't the dance for me. I like slow things with minimal movement, like the waltz and other dances like that. They just screamed ‘me’. I took a deep breath. It was all in the hips right?

I walked in time with the beat towards him with exaggerated movements, hips swaying and arms moving by my side. I remembered a routine that I had seen many times and began to circle him. Then he grabbed my hand, pulled me away and then back into him so that my back was up against his chest but he still held my hand. I blushed at how close we were and his arm slid down to my waist. I had to resist the urge to moan.

Then he had his hand on my thigh and the fire was rekindled on my face as he brought my leg up. I had no idea that he knew I was flexible. I could tell that he had done the tango many times because he knew the moves too. Then he pushed my leg back down and I moved away from him while twisting side to the side.

He smiled at me, but there was something about this smile. It looked sexy... Oh Kami, did I just say that about  _ Natsu?  _ Then the real dance began. He came closer, put his hand on my hip and grabbed my other hand before we started twisting and turning, dipping and raising me up into the air as I twisted over and around his shoulders. I never knew he was this strong! By the time the song ended, my right leg was around his waist, his hands were on my butt and my hands were around his neck as we were both close to each other, our breaths mingling.

"Natsu-san, that was amazing," I panted. He grinned at me yet again and my heart just felt like jumping out of my chest. We were so close...too close...

"Not so bad yourself for someone who has never done the tango." I should have been thinking about Gray, not Natsu. I just couldn't get him out of my head. In Gray's case, he was more or less forced to join dance class as he had lost a bet to someone, but Natsu danced willingly with so much passion! He was like a flame that couldn’t be put out.

I just didn't want to let him go because I knew that if I did, there was no way he was ever going to dance with me. At least I could savour this moment. But then I thought of his dead dancing partner and I immediately pulled away. As soon as I did, he gave me a hurt look before masking it.

"Juvia is sorry Natsu-san, Juvia shouldn't have forced you into dancing with her." I turned away from him as I picked up my school bag. I remembered that I still needed to speak with Mira-sensei about the showcase when Natsu's voice stopped me. 

"If anything, I forced you into dancing with me. It was...fun. I had forgotten how great it was to dance and for you to know one of the fastest tango routines there is, you made it even better. As for Lisanna... Well I know she wouldn't have wanted her death to cause the death of me dancing. I'll dance with you at the showcase. We can even do this routine if you want."

I turned to face him in surprise as he grinned at me. He must have really enjoyed himself now to overcome his dislike for dance. 

"Meet me at the school gates after school. I wanna show you something." He grabbed his bag and the school bell went. I blinked. Beginning of school already? 

"I'll see you later, Juvia."

There was something about the way he said my name that just made me blush. "Sure thing Natsu-san." Before he left me in the hall, he turned to me one last time. My breath was caught in my throat. His pink hair was falling in his face at all the right angles. I was glad he wasn't one of Lucy's little love boys.

"You can drop the -san you know. I don't need that sort of respect." Like that, he was gone. I quickly grabbed my bag and headed out of the opposite door and headed to my first class. I felt hot and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t because of the dance.


	2. Chapter 2

All day throughout class, I wasn’t concentrating. I couldn’t help but think about what had happened in the morning. I had not only done the tango for the first time in my life and actually enjoyed it, but I had done the dance with one of the school’s sexiest fighter guys. Well, those were a lot of girl’s words, not mine. But I guess I could see where they were coming from, now that I was trying to get over my little crush on Gray _. _

“Juvia, are you okay? You’ve been spacing out for the majority of class.” I looked up to see Levy hugging her books to her chest and looking down at her friend worriedly. I smiled at her. 

“Of course Levy-chan! Juvia is just fine! Why does Levy ask?” I saw Levy wave around the classroom as though she was presenting me with something, and I blushed when I realised that there was no one there and that I had been sitting there for Kami knows how long.

“Class is over?” 

Levy giggled and nodded as I quickly gathered up my things.

“So what’s on your mind?” 

I didn’t really feel like talking about it. Natsu was technically the rival of the guy I was trying to get over, and it’s not even like I  _ liked  _ him, I just liked the way he danced. There were no feelings there and I really doubted that there would be any to develop anyway. After all, I have a feeling that Lisanna was more than a  _ friend. _

“Honestly, it’s nothing. Juvia was just thinking about the showcase. Natsu changed his mind this morning and told Juvia that he will dance with her.” 

She gasped and I looked down at her. “Natsu said he’ll be your partner?”

I nodded my head. “Yes...Juvia knows about Lisanna-san and how they were partners. Juvia told him not to force himself, but he said he would like to give it a try again.”

Levy looked like she was impressed. “Lisanna...she was so nice and caring. I think you would have really liked her. It was such a shame, seeing her go so young...But for Natsu to want to dance again, he must slowly be coming back around! That’s good, Lisanna wouldn’t want to see him that way.”

I nodded. That was also what Natsu had said this morning. As we rounded a corner, we saw Gajeel waiting there for us. Him and Levy had their next class together, so Levy waved at me, claiming that we would meet up at lunch. I nodded at her as Gajeel nodded at me before they disappeared.

I made my way over to my next class which was literature. This was a class where we learned both Japanese and English literature because our teacher had once studied abroad. I sighed, realising I was the last person into class. It was all my fault with my daydreaming. That was when I also remembered something else. Wasn’t Natsu in that class? I only knew that because Natsu and Gray were always arguing so much and I was always staring at Gray, hoping he would win the fight. I stepped into class and everyone was looking at me and Natsu had a little smirk on his face. 

I bowed my head, averting my eyes as well as hoping that Lahar-sensei wouldn’t be too mad at me. “Juvia is sorry she’s late.” 

Lahar-sensei rolled his eyes before I walked over to the only empty seat. Our seating plan changed every lesson as no one was bothered to stay in the same seats all the time. I wanted to laugh at how fate was being so stupid. The empty seat was next to Natsu. I didn’t know whether he had planned that, or if it was genuinely the only seat left in class for me to take.

I put all my stuff down by Natsu and then pulled out the seat, only to find that Natsu had already pulled it out for me. I smiled at him and he mocked me by bowing his head. 

“Okay, Natsu-san can stop now.” He grinned at me, a glint running through his eye. 

“Aww, but I don’t really feel like stopping. But just for you, I’ll stop.” I looked at our teacher and he was droning on, looking passionate about what he was teaching us. “Looking at the old man to see if we’ll get in trouble for talking? C’mon Juvia, we won’t.” I blushed, wondering how he had worked out what I was thinking.

“What does Natsu-san want to talk about with Juvia anyway? We never spoke before.” He sighed deeply and I wondered if I asked a stupid question. 

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re going to be my dance partner to one of the world’s most sexiest dances ever and we’ve never even worked together. I think we should get to know each other a bit better.” He shifted in his chair so that he was now facing me head on and I turned to look at his dark eyes staring at me intensely. It made me feel uncomfortable. Did he  _ have  _ to point out how sexy the dance was? I could feel myself heating up, remembering this morning.

“There is nothing for Natsu-san to know. After the dance, Natsu and Juvia will go off back to their normal lives.” Well that was going to be hard for me considering that my life had been revolving around Gray and I was trying my ultimate best to forget about him. Natsu’s eyebrow shot up at me as he kept on staring at me. 

“Is that what you really think?” There was something laced in between his words and that was amusement. I couldn’t help but blush. He was making me uncomfortable, but in a really good way. Gray never really looked at me when he spoke. He gave me a more quick side glance. Natsu was the complete opposite. He looked me dead in the eyes, his attention on me and on what I had to say.

“W-well doesn’t Natsu think that we would?” He smirked and shook his head before sitting back in his chair, not really answering my question. I sighed and decided to drop our conversation there. There are literally some boys that just make your head want to explode. Some did it in a good way and some did it in a really annoying way. I think Natsu fell in the category of the good way.

>Line Break<

I couldn’t find Levy or Gajeel at lunch and I wondered if maybe they had left the school to go out and get some lunch. That shouldn’t be the case, I already made Gajeel’s lunch. Unless he ate it at break. 

I slammed the door to my locker shut and when I did I jumped when I saw Natsu standing right there, grinning at me. My hand flew to my heart as I panted. 

"Gosh, Natsu-san really scared Juvia!" He grinned at me and I rolled my eyes as I started walking away from him. “What does Natsu-san want anyway?” He fell in step with me, his hands laced behind his head like they always are.

“I was just wondering when we’ll have time to practice. I mean, the dance is in...three days? Two days now?” I nodded my head at him. 

I gasped, realising that today was Tuesday and the showcase was on Thursday. We only had two days left! 

“Yeah, two days...” I sighed and he looked down at me. 

“What, you having second thoughts about me being your partner already?” 

I shook my head vigorously. If anything, I was  _ grateful  _ that he was my partner! I just wasn’t sure if we had enough time to be able to learn a whole routine in the short amount of time that we had. Would two days really be enough?

“No no! It’s just...The dance is tango and it's not the type of dance for Juvia at all. Maybe Juvia will just tell Mira-sensei to cut out her partner dance-"

Natsu grabbed my shoulders and turned me so that I was now looking at him. The motion was so fluid that I honestly thought we were going to start doing the tango  _ here _ . He gave me a stunned look. 

"You ARE good! Don’t you dare let anyone else ever tell you otherwise. We’re gonna smash this! You danced this morning with me, didn’t you?”

I nodded my head, biting my lip. He was right. I did do a routine with him this morning and that was with no rehearsal whatsoever. Maybe...maybe I could do this!

“Natsu-san is right, Juvia has this under control!”

He grinned at me before his smile fell. I gave him a worried look and as I was about to ask him what was wrong, he sighed and looked at me in my eyes. I knew whatever he was about to tell me wasn’t going to be good.

“Juvia, there's something I have to tell you... I wasn't so sure if I should tell you this because you won't believe me, but I'm going to tell you anyway because you deserve the truth."

I stood there looking at him puzzled as he drew in his breath. "Gray's aunt Ur isn't having her funeral this Thursday. She died five years ago and it's not the anniversary either because the five year anniversary happened 6 months ago. In other words, Gray is just lying to you." 

It took me some time to register the news, but eventually I gasped as my hand flew to my mouth, tears starting to gather in my eyes. I wanted to yell and say it wasn't true, that Gray would never lie to me, but of  _ course _ he would. I had freaked him out so much that he used his  _ dead  _ relative to lie to me! I was a freak who was in love with him.

I turned away from Natsu, not wanting him to see my tears, but I guess it was already too late. The damage had already been done. I was so  _ ashamed  _ of myself. I thought Natsu was going to leave me here, and I kind of wanted him to. He shouldn’t have to be seen with someone like me.

Instead, I felt his hand on my shoulder as he tried to turn me to face him. I refused to budge, but he was obviously a lot stronger than me. He soon had me turned back towards him, his voice gentle as he spoke to me.

"Hey don't cry. Don't you worry, we'll dance together and show Gray what he's missing out on, deal?" The tears streamed down my face and his hand wiped them away. I moved my head away from him. As much as it was nice having someone comfort me, I also wasn’t used to it, especially if it wasn’t Gajeel. Gajeel had his own way of doing things, and it was never this affectionate. Natsu wiping my tears felt so...so  _ intimate.  _

"Leave Juvia alone please. She just needs to clear her head." He shook his head at me and grabbed my hand, pushing me through multiple doors until we were outside. He dragged me off to the side, away from the masses of all the other students.

He stood next to me as I cried my eyes out. He even offered to hug me to which I had tried to ignore. After some time, I got over myself, my eyes still raw from the tears I just cried. I was finally able to speak, voicing out an important question. 

"Why couldn't he just tell Juvia that he didn't want to dance with her? Knowing this is just embarrassing." I was grateful that Natsu had decided to stay with me. I don't know what I would have done if he wasn't here. 

“I don’t know, after all you seem like a nice, understanding person. He’s just being a dick.” I laughed a little bit at his choice words for Gray and nodded my head. Yeah, he was. I don’t even know what I really saw in him. I wiped at my cheeks to look presentable as I shuddered.

“Besides, it’s never good to keep things bottled up and stay by yourself. You seem like the type who needs a lot of attention, even when you don’t want it.”

I blushed and shook my head. “Juvia doesn’t need attention, she’s fine the way she is.” He looked me in the eyes. 

“Yeah, you do.” There was something about the way he said it that made me shiver and look away from him, my face heating up slightly. We were arguing over the stupidest thing here! I decided not to speak and we just sat there in silence until Natsu cleared his throat, ready to talk again. 

“So about us practicing... I was thinking you just come over to my house tonight and we go through the whole routine. Seeing as you claim to  _ not  _ know how to do the tango, we just do what we did this morning.” The thought of this morning came rushing back into my head and another blush took over my face once again. Natsu just laughed and poked my cheeks.

“You blush so easily, it’s cute.” Cue  _ another _ blush. I had never been called cute before. It was always Lucy who got the attention, and other girls, never me. I put my hand on my chest wondering why the hell my heart was beating so fast. I mean, I never felt this way with Gray. Whatever. Just ignore it Juvia. I noticed him writing something pretty fast on a piece of paper before he shoved it into my hand. I looked at it and I had to say, I wasn’t expecting such nice handwriting from one of the messiest fighters of the school.

“That’s my address if you didn’t already realise that. Just come over anytime tonight and we can practice.” I scowled at him showing that I did indeed know that it was an address, only I clearly wasn’t concentrating on that. 

“Juvia didn’t think that Natsu would have such nice handwriting.” He blinked before smiling and shrugging his shoulders carelessly. 

“Yup, I’m just full of surprises right? Lisanna taught me how to write like that. She hated my old handwriting, and so did I.”

I hated this. Every time we spoke of something, it was like it was always going to come back to Lisanna. The pit of regret started churning in my stomach. Just as I was about to open my mouth to apologise, Natsu flashed me a dark look. 

“Hey, you didn’t know, okay? I know that you’re going to apologise for bringing it up, but it’s not your fault. Besides, I’m slowly getting there, y’know? I think my mourning stage is finally coming to an end, I know that she’ll forever be in my heart.”

He then smiled at me. “You’re actually the only person I talk to about Lisanna this freely. I think maybe because you never got to meet her, I find it really easy telling you about her. Everyone else already had memories about her, so they already know. I can’t explain it.” He shrugged at me and I just stared at him sadly.

Death was never really something that was easy to get over. I would know, my parents were long gone. While it gets easier in time, it still leaves a hole within you, making you feel incomplete. I didn’t want Natsu feeling that way.

“Whenever Natsu wants Juvia to shut up, just tell her okay?” 

He laughed before looking thoughtful. 

“Tell me something. Why do you speak in third person?” 

I knew this question was going to pop up one day, I didn’t think it was going to be this early though. Maybe I wasn’t ready to talk about it. But then again, Natsu said that he had never spoken about Lisanna to any other person so maybe I should pay him back the favour and speak of my past.

“When Juvia was younger and before she met Gajeel-kun, she used to get bullied a lot and she had absolutely no friends. Because of that, Juvia spoke in third person as though someone was always talking to her. Basically, Juvia was always talking to herself. By the time Juvia met Gajeel-kun, the habit kind of stuck.” I gave him a weak and humourless smile as he just looked at me with a blank look. I looked away, deciding to stare at his address to keep me from looking at his face.

“Juvia, look at me.” 

His voice was soft and it made me look up even though I really didn’t want to. He gave me a soft smile and I don’t know why, but it made me want to cry. I didn’t deserve such a smile. 

“That was in the past. Don’t even look at the future right now, look at the present. You’ve got me, I’m a friend right? And I've seen you hang out with Levy and Gajeel. You don’t ever have to feel that way again alright?” I nodded my head entranced by the look in his eyes. “Now come on, let’s go and get some lunch. I’m hungry.”

I rolled my eyes with a smile as I followed him back into the main building so that we could go and eat before lunch was over. And trust me, with all the dancing I do, I always needed to eat because it took a lot more out of me than people thought. We got down to eat and I had some salmon teriyaki with rice right in front of me plus some strawberry cheesecake. I took in a deep breath as the aroma of the food was getting to me. 

I ate my way through the rice and salmon before practically wolfing down my cake and chugging down my water. I finished feeling content and noticed that Natsu was staring at me. I blinked at him. 

“What? Is there something on Juvia’s face?” I started rummaging through my bag trying to look for my mirror to see if there was something on my face.

“You actually ate! Wow, can’t believe there’s a girl like that these days!” I gave him a weird look as I slowly stopped looking through my bag. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

He pointed at my empty plate, as if that should answer everything. “C’mon, most girls these days don’t wanna eat. They think it’s sexy to look like a pack of bones. They need to get it into their heads that it ain’t pretty.” I nodded my head.

“But it’s hard. Juvia doesn’t know why girls have this innate tendency to try and look beautiful all the time. Juvia used to have an eating disorder, but she got over it now.” I shrugged my shoulders taking a sip of my water as I watched Natsu finish his meal. He gave me a guilty look as though to apologise and I waved it off. The bell rang signalling the end of lunch. We both stood up before he grinned at me. The both of us didn’t have the next class together, so I just nodded at him. He nodded right back.

“See ya later then.” He grabbed up his bag and swung it onto one shoulder as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and started walking away. 

I couldn’t help but watch his back. He looked like such a troublemaker. Not the typical bad boy, but the boy who just wants to have a laugh all the time and is always fidgeting. Must have been a handful of a child when he was younger. I shook my head to stop myself from looking at him as I stood up and pulled up my bag to head over to my next lesson.

I was walking through the hallway when Mira-sensei saw me and she smiled brightly at me. I couldn’t help but smile back at her, I mean how could you not? She was extremely nice and caring.

“Juvia, have you found a partner yet? I’m really sorry about Gray’s pulling out and you’re one of our best dancers to be honest.” I blushed. Seriously, what was up with all these compliments lately? I nodded my head at the sweet woman. 

“In fact Juvia has! She’s going to be the tango with Natsu-san!” She looked shocked from the moment I said I would be doing the tango, and it seemed to grow when I mentioned Natsu’s name.

“Natsu...dancing? That’s a shock...He hasn’t danced ever since my sister...died...” Now it just looked like she was talking more to herself than actually to me. I then backtracked. 

“Wait. Lisanna was your sister, Mira-sensei?” She nodded, giving me a sad smile. Right now, I knew I was going to be so late to my next lesson but who cares? I was already doing well in all of my classes, being tardy wouldn’t hurt. 

“Yes she was. Her and Natsu were the best of friends. Honestly I thought they would start dating! But I think it’s because they loved each other like a brother and sister. Like you and Gajeel.” I nodded, understanding it fully. Me and Gajeel had been together for so many years now that it was weird remembering that he actually wasn’t my blood brother. I had gotten so used to calling him brother it would be weird not to think of him as it.

“What was she like, Mira-sensei?” She chuckled.

“Now, because she was my little sister I might sound biased, but she truly was a sweet girl. I saw her talking to everyone and she never had any problems with anyone! It was a shame that she was diagnosed with leukemia before we had time to react and save her. May her soul rest in peace in paradise.” I muttered the sentence back as a form of respect before asking another question. 

“Can Juvia see a picture of her?” She nodded as though she was happy I asked. 

“Yeah sure! Here.” She brought out her purse and handed me a picture of her. It seemed more recent than I thought it would be and it was of her, Mira-sensei and another bigger and bulkier guy with white hair. I suspected he was their brother. He did look familiar though. I think he was a student in the year above me, meaning he would now be in university. 

“Wow, she looks so much like Mira-sensei but with short hair!” She smiled fondly before she took back the picture. “She is really pretty, Juvia sends her very late condolences.” She thanked me before straightening herself. 

“For you to be able to get Natsu out of his depressive state and get him back into dancing, I have to thank you. He is so talented and the way he threw everything away broke my heart. I’m sure Lisanna wouldn’t want him to do that. Thank you Juvia.”

I shook my head telling her it wasn’t a problem before she wrote me a note. The hallway was now silent and dead. “Here, just give this to your next teacher to say that I called you away. This way you won’t get in any trouble.” I thanked her again before I started walking off and she was walking back to the dance studio.

> Line Break <

I was standing outside of Natsu’s house ready to knock on the door when it opened before my hand could come in contact. Standing right in front of me was Gray Fullbuster, the man of my dreams. He was dark haired and moody. I smiled at him, my heart jumping just a little bit. I mean, I couldn’t help it. I was trying to get over him yes, but there was still an attraction towards him. Before I could say anything, he swore.

"FUCK! Now the crazy bitch knows where I live! Did you follow me here?!" He looked pretty mad and I looked pretty confused. What the hell was he talking about? Did he think that I was here for him? Wasn’t this Natsu’s house? I'm so glad I'm giving up on this jerk! I stared down at the address that Natsu had given me. There’s no way he would have set me up, right? No, Natsu wasn’t like that.

I showed Gray the address that Natsu had written down for me. As shy as I am, I won’t be spoken to like this. Not anymore.

"What is Gray talking about, Juvia came here for Natsu! We're working together on something!"

He gave me a skeptical look before the said boy showed up behind him. "Gray, just calm down not every girl wants you, geez." Natsu was glaring at him and I almost gasped out loud because of how  _ attractive  _ he looked right now. I shook my head trying to stop these thoughts. 

"You don't know this girl Natsu. She won't fucking stop stalking me! She's so creepy and she thinks I don't even know. She doesn't even get the hint that I don’t like her. I should've gotten a restraining order on her a long time ago!"

That hurt, a lot. He was talking like I wasn’t even here and he ignored me. What, did he think that I had no feelings or something? Before the tears could build up, I looked at Natsu for strength. His eyes were soft as he looked like he was giving me an apology. It’s not like it was his fault, but now I felt nothing but embarrassment running through me. I gave him my own sorry smile of my own.

"Maybe we should just do this tomorrow instead, Juvia can see she's not wanted here."

Natsu shook his head, his glare intensifying on Gray. "Let's just leave this cold bastard alone while he goes and takes that stick outta his ass. He can't talk about you like that as though you aren't here. Gray just fuck off to where you were going. He doesn’t even live here." Natsu took my hand as Gray was grumbling before he left the house. Natsu sighed feeling really frustrated. He rubbed at his face with his free hand.

"Sorry about that, you didn't deserve those harsh words." 

I shook my head trying to hold a small smile on my face. What else could I say? Gray was right, I was nothing other than a freak. He felt uncomfortable around me and that was no one’s fault but my own. 

"It's okay, it's not Natsu-san’s fault. Juvia wasn’t really expecting for you to be living with him though. Next time give Juvia a heads up." He smiled at me before leading me to the front room where there was more than enough room to dance. I stared at the place in awe. Even I had to admit, the place was kept really tidily. I remember someone saying that both his parents were dead, but it was clean in here! It even smelt like him.

"Like I said, he doesn’t even live here. I’m still sorry though. You ready to practice?" He said as he was putting his iPod on the speaker docks and turning to me. It was clear that he didn’t really listen to music out loud because most people would have used their phones and connected to bluetooth speakers. Maybe he never really upgraded because of Lisanna? I took in a deep breath and nodded suddenly feeling like I was in the zone. 

"Yeah."

We danced for ages and it was a wonder that Natsu’s arms didn't get tired from holding me up in the air. He must lift weights everyday or something because I was so sure I wasn't one of the lightest girls on earth. I was constantly blushing when Natsu’s hand was caressing my body. It was only day two of knowing Natsu and already he had touched me more than Gray who had been my dance for a year had done. I wasn’t complaining though. Natsu was way more gentle, his hands felt strong. I felt so secure in his arms and I could feel my heart thumping in my chest. What is  _ wrong  _ with me?

"Want a drink?" 

I nodded my head feeling so out of breath while I followed him into the kitchen. He placed a glass in front of me before filling it up with water from a jug and I greedily gulped it all down. 

"I would give you something to eat but I'm sure as hell that we're ordering out tonight as usual." 

I shook my head in disappointment. He made it sound like both him and Gray only ever ate takeout and that didn’t sit right with me at all!

"That's not the life for two growing young men! Let Juvia see what you guys have here and Juvia will make something out of that. If Natsu wants, Juvia can even cook you guys stuff when Juvia gets home and gives it to you." 

He didn't look too sure about my plan. Still, whether he liked it or not, I was still going to cook for him. It’s like it would have bothered me anyway. I cook for Gajeel and I all the time.

"I don’t wanna bother you, I mean won't that be too much on you?" 

I laughed and shook my head as I started to dig around the fridge. "Juvia is used to it, living with her brother and all. Next to dancing, Juvia also loves cooking. See, now that's another thing Natsu knows about Juvia." I pulled out some random stuff before setting them down on the counter. He grinned. 

"Thanks Juvia, you’re amazing you know." For the past day this was all I was hearing. I don’t know how girls could ever stand getting compliments all the time. It made my cheeks light up in colour as I could feel the heat from my blush rising to the surface to meet my skin.

"Aww, no Juvia is not."

"Aww but yes you are. Now hurry up, I'm starving." He laughed when I grabbed his tea towel and started flicking it at him as he tried to run away. I just shook my head at him as I left him to make the meal.

He was quiet for ages that I forgot that he was even here, even though it was his house. Then I saw him out of the corner of my eye watching me make the food. As soon as we made eye contact, he gestured at the food. 

“That smells amazing.” 

I don’t know why it made me blush, but it did. I looked up at him to see how close he was to me. I had to turn my head away from him before I faint or something. I had never been this close to a guy that wasn’t Gajeel before and this was just too much for me. Well I had, but it never felt this intimate and close. Natsu’s presence didn’t worry me, it soothed me instead.

“Natsu should move before Juvia burns herself.” Maybe that would get him off my back, literally. It did and I finally had enough air to actually breathe. 

When I finished, I was able to serve up the food. I placed the food in front of him and he immediately started eating as though he was being starved. I smiled before I cleared up my mess. “Natsu should be thinking of getting more ingredients, otherwise he’ll be hungry.” He just nodded his head, concentrating on eating.

“Aren’t you gonna eat?” He asked me after he finished his mouthful. I looked at him and shook my head. He frowned and offered me some of his food. “Well you can’t just come to my house, cook for me and not eat, right?”

“It’s okay Natsu-san. Juvia has to get home and cook for Gajeel-kun too. But wait, it’s Tuesday, he’s probably on a date with Levy. Eh, Juvia needs to get home anyway. School and stuff tomorrow. Juvia will see Natsu-san later.” I gave him a smile before I went to get my stuff ready to leave. I heard lots of clattering about in the kitchen and some water running before I saw him standing in front of me.

“Hey I’ll walk you home then! For you know, company. Must get boring walking by yourself.” He literally jumped into his shoes and I just put my hand on my face to hide my blush. 

"Let's go!"

I followed him as we left his house and he started humming to himself. I couldn’t help but watch him out of the corner of my eye. You would have never realised that he had lost his best friend 2 years ago, a girl that he saw as his sister. Imagine losing your sister. I don't know what I would do if Gajeel died. I don't think I would ever be the same again. He still managed to keep a happy face and an upbeat life. You would have never known that a tragedy struck his life.

I had come to admire that. He was able to be happy! I wanted to be like that. I wasn’t jealous of him, but I wanted to be able to be strong like him. 

“How did you and Gajeel meet?”

I wasn’t ready for the question and almost jumped out of my skin.

“Oh, um, Juvia and Gajeel have been best friends since we were about 8 years old. Why does Natsu-san live with Gray-san? Doesn’t Gray-san have his own family?” It still hurt to talk about Gray after the way he lied to me and treated me. It was so painful, his words cut in deep. He had sped up the process in her liking him because now, she was definitely never going to fawn over him again.

“His mum and aunt Ur died, his dad is off on business trips most of the time and he hates his older cousins. He thought it was okay to crash in with me because he wanted to. Arsehole, he’s so lucky that I don’t lock him out one day. Tch, jerk.”

I nodded my head vigorously, agreeing totally with his words. Natsu seemed to notice and he looked ahead of him. “I’m sorry that Gray was an arsehole to you. I wish I could have had the time to punch his lights out! I know I might be clueless half the time, but I know you’re to never be rude to a girl. Unless she’s Erza and she has the world under her foot because she can hurt any man.”

I giggled at the comment about Erza. “Juvia doesn’t mind. Gray-san has just been freaked out by Juvia many times, of course he would be bitter to Juvia.” I sighed. I made him have those thoughts about me. If I had been normal or left him alone, it wouldn’t have happened.

“Yeah, but he shouldn’t have been bitter at all. He could have let you down gently or something. Besides, what sick bastard uses his dead aunt as some excuse? I should fucking castrate him because he isn’t man enough about feelings around him.”

I just watched him get angry for my sake and I smiled lightly, appreciating it a lot. I placed my hand on his shoulder in an act of kindness. “Thanks for caring, Natsu.”

He shrugged at me with a grin. “It was nothing I guess. You’re a friend of mine, I gotta care right?” 

I couldn't help the smile on my face. He saw us as friends now and I couldn’t help but feel light on the inside. I don’t think I have ever been happier lately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so how was that? I thought that properly editing and proof-reading chapters would be a piece of cake, but of course I've been proven wrong, yet AGAIN. Thanks to all those who have left kudos on the story so far, I love you guys and can't wait to see you in the next one!
> 
> Lolita-chan


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three**

I was doing my stretches for the dance practice. The dance performance was now a day away and everything had to be spot on and perfect. The stage was being set, so we all had to go and dance in the dance studio. Although Gray wasn't dancing that night, it was still his lesson time that he had to come to if he still wanted to pass the class. 

I looked at him before turning and sighing. I couldn’t remember what I saw in him. His cold words still struck my heart in ways that were so painful and the fact that he used his dead aunt to lie to me was just foul and sick. He just had to say that he didn't want to dance with me. Well screw him anyway, I don’t even care. Well, I sort of do, but not as much now.

"Hey Juvia, did you manage to find another partner for the dance?” 

I smiled at the Loke, the school's biggest ladies man. I must be one of the only girls that he has never tried to ask on a date or maybe even considered getting in a relationship with because he thought I was weird. That must be a partial excuse as I'm not remotely pretty too.

"Yes, Juvia has found another partner. He doesn’t feel like coming to the rehearsals because Mira-sensei said he doesn’t have to."

“Oh cool. Who is it?”

I shook my head. Natsu didn’t really feel like letting anyone else know that he was coming back for just one showcase. Loke just shrugged his shoulders before smiling and walking back over to Gray and Lucy. I wondered if he had known that Gray was lying about his aunt, but I just sighed and let it go. I continued on with my stretches because there was no way I was going to get an injury when I had to do the _tango._ My stretching was essential.

So while Mira-sensei went over the programme and everyone did their part, my phone buzzed, making me frown. Levy was in class, Gajeel smashed his phone and I don’t have any friends willing to contact me. Oh wait there's always...

_Natsu._

I smiled at the caller id, happy that Natsu was thinking about me right now. I blushed at that thought before reading his text.

_How’s dance? Hope that jerk ain't givin you no problems!_

I laughed softly at the text before punching in my own reply. He always knew how to make me feel better whenever I thought of the horrible things that Gray said to me. It was weird though, how Natsu was able to tell that I was feeling upset now.

_Dance is okay, Loke just came up to Juvia to ask why she's still here if she's not dancing anymore._

_Even in a text you still type in third person, cute. Well Loke can go and fuck himself because we're going to surprise them all and have the best dance ;)_

The winking emoticon made me feel a kind of way that an emoticon shouldn’t make me feel. Also the fact that he doesn’t mind it when I speak in third person and actually finds it cute made me blush too. Why was I feeling this kind of way for _Natsu_ for crying out loud?!

_Juvia will tell him that lol. Isn't Natsu-san supposed to be in class?_

_Nah, got in a fight so I just left old man Dreyar's office. I'll just head down to the dance studio now._

I sighed and rolled my eyes, setting my phone down and waited for his arrival. Natsu was a lost cause when it came to him and fighting. He loved it so much that you would think the guy was an underground street fighter or something. Trust me, if those rumours started spreading like a forest fire, I would believe it right off the bat.

I looked up to see that Lucy and Loke were now doing their dance and I noticed that Lucy wasn’t _as_ great as I thought she was. She was very stocky with her moves, almost as though she _couldn't_ move and Loke was secretly out of step to the untrained eye. I felt like falling about with laughter, but I settled for a cheek aching smile instead. Still, I couldn’t deny that they were good.

"Juvia! Look what I have for you!" Mira-sensei started running towards me with a large bag in her hand. I raised my eyebrow at it before standing up to grab a hold of it when she handed it to me.

"It's your outfit along with Natsu’s. It was just a quick last minute order ever since you told me yesterday that he was your new dance partner! Take a look!"

I was excited to see what I would be wearing for the dance. My order for the winter waltz had been cancelled ever since Gray bailed on me. I gave the bag back to her and I held out my dress, my mouth in an 'o' shape and my eyes staring at it in awe. Of course the dress was red, it had jewels running down the left side of it. The dress was also very short, almost like a fairy's tutu. There was a spaghetti strap on one side while the other side was strapless. 

"No way!! Mira-sensei, Juvia loves it so much, thank you!" I couldn't help but hug the young teacher and she just grinned.

"That’s okay Juvia. You deserve it. You're the only one who takes this class seriously. I think everyone else is just here for an easy class and something that they won't fail in. I'm pretty sure half of the guys are here to see the girls in short dresses."

I laughed at that and she gave me a soft look. "Also, for pulling Natsu out of his dancing funk. His talent shouldn't go to waste. His outfit is in the bag too, so give that to him for me okay?"

I nodded and put my dress back in the bag. It was so beautiful I just wanted to stare at it all the time! I couldn’t believe I was going to be dancing in something like that. The thought of it just made me grin.

"Also, how good are you at dancing in high heels?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Juvia is decent at it. Depends on the heels."

"I would say kitty heels, but I checked all the local shops and they all told me it's out of fashion. The dance store was also sold out. I think the only thing you can wear are stilettos..."

"Juvia can do it, don't worry."

I actually wasn’t sure. I've danced in heels many times, but it was just the thought of the stage where it might be slippery, I just didn’t really want to take that risk and embarrass myself. I would never be able to live it down and surprisingly, a lot of students actually came to watch our dance productions. Embarrassing myself in front of a good majority of the school wouldn’t be the wisest of ideas. I mean, how could NO SHOP sell kitten heels right now?! Are they out to get me?!

Just as I turned around, I noticed Natsu heading in my direction from a door on the other side of the stage. I smiled at him and he grinned back at me before coming to stand over me. Mira-sensei brightened up visibly. She was clearly excited to see him back here. Even Natsu himself was staring around the place. I could see it in his eyes as I stood up. He missed this place.

“Natsu! It’s really good to see you back here. Lisanna would be so happy right now.” 

Natsu’s grin became a soft smile as he turned his attention to Mira-sensei. “That’s okay Mira, I guess Lisanna would be happy huh? You even put the showcase on her birthday.”

Mira-sensei nodded with a sad smile. “Yeah, you know how much she loved to dance, I thought I would put the production on that day as a memory.” She paused as if to gather herself before speaking once again. “Anyway, I’m glad that you’re dancing with Juvia. She’s my star pupil you know. She’s the only person in your year who takes dance seriously since you and Lisanna.”

“That’s cool Mira. You’ll see, we’re gonna be the best, riiight Juvia?” He slung his arm over my shoulder and put his head next to mine as he grinned a large toothy grin. I couldn’t help but blush and turn my head away from him. I saw Mira smirk out of the corner of my eye as if she could see into my soul and decipher that I’m being affected in some way by Natsu being close to me.

“Well that’s good then. Take good care of her Natsu!” Mira-sensei walked off, leaving Natsu to wave at her and I almost choked on the air I was breathing. No way! Did she mean what I thought she meant? That woman, always into the latest gossip of the newest couples and she tried to keep her eyes out for couples that were on the horizon. There is no way Natsu and I are one of them. I just found Natsu attractive, didn’t mean I liked him. And there’s no way he would like me.

“Mira-sensei bought our outfits. They’re in this bag.” I noticed Lucy looking over at me, but she didn’t see Natsu from the angle she was at, so I pushed his hand away from the bag. “Don’t worry, Juvia will give Natsu his outfit afterwards.”

I noticed his face as he frowned at what I did before he too saw Lucy looking at me curiously and he understood. He pushed himself further into the wall behind the curtain so that he wouldn’t be noticed by anyone else. I didn’t really care if she thought I was crazy, looking like I was talking to myself. 

“Oh, thanks, didn’t want a group of people asking me why I’m over here dancing again and stuff.”

I laughed before the bell above us started ringing, making me jump out of my skin and Natsu laughed. I glared at him before I saw everyone running off to go and change. Natsu and I didn’t have a class right now meaning it was okay for us to stay back. Mira-sensei came back and sat down where the crowd would be sitting and she called out to us.

“Okay, your dance is going to be the last dance where the guy finally gets the girl he wants and there is passion and fire and looove!” We watched with a sweatdrop as Mira-sensei was then standing up and making all these crazy and dramatic hand gestures. I was impressed with the way she had managed to change our dance and it sounded like we now had a big role to play in the showcase. I had originally thought that Lucy and Loke were getting the main dance, but I guess that if Natsu was now in the production, the dance he was in had to be major. 

I then blushed when my mind caught up to what Mira-sensei was talking about. The two characters that Natsu and I were playing had to convey _love_. I looked up at Natsu and he rolled his eyes at how dramatic our teacher was being, but he had a smile lingering on his face.

“Okay! Playback!” 

One of the stage directors started playing our song that I had given him and I turned to face Natsu, sighing as I did so. We stood a way apart to start the dance for when the music started playing. It was time to dance.

* * *

I met up with Levy and Gajeel before they were about to leave the school building. “Hey you guys!” Levy turned her head to look at me before she grinned.

“Hey, look Gajeel, it’s the girl who has found a better friend than us.” I rolled my eyes at her before hitting her with my chemistry book. I was the one who had been left at lunch, not me leaving them!

“Levy-chan knows that Juvia is just hanging out with Natsu because he’s Juvia’s partner for dance. Our competition is still on. Juvia is not getting anything less than an A this year.”

“Oh yeah? Well I’m not losing this year either!”

“I’m dating a nerd and my sister’s one too. What the fuck did I do to deserve this?” Levy and I smirked at each other before we smacked him with our books. He jumped before grumbling and he rubbed his arms, cursing at us under our breath. Levy jumped onto his back and kissed his cheek making me look away. One because it was making me gag at how lovey dovey they were getting and two, because I wasn't the one jumping onto someone’s back and giving them a kiss on the cheek. Someone being Natsu.

My face then flared up as the blood rushed straight to my face. I rested a hand on my cheek as I couldn’t believe my own thoughts. How could I even think about Natsu like that?! I placed a hand on my forehead, hating how overactive my imagination was. I looked over at Levy and Gajeel again and they looked like they were in their own little world. If I were to leave now, they wouldn’t even know. 

“Guys, Juvia is going home now, she thinks she might be sick.” I wasn’t _really_ going to be sick, but I wanted to see if they would actually hear me. No such luck, because then they were laughing at one another. I just rolled my eyes before walking away from them. I thought about going home, but then it would be really boring and I would do nothing. I had no homework that's due tomorrow so there was no point. I had nowhere else to hang out so...

I instantly thought of the one place that I hadn’t been in ages. I smiled sadly as I thought of what once used to be my home because I was there every time. It used to be my life, my passion and a hobby that I enjoyed more than dancing. Who knows, maybe I wouldn’t even be a dancer if my life was still normal

I was going swimming.

~x~

Swimming was how my parents first met. My dad wanted to be a swimming coach so he was doing his qualifications and was an 'apprentice' to the national squad coach. My mother was an excellent swimmer who could have very well made it into the Olympics and she did. My father was helping to coach my mother's team when they first met. It was love at first sight.

So eventually they got married and obviously, when they had me, I became a swimmer and probably one of the best kids my age too. The water was second nature to me and it was my home. It was the only thing I could ever rely on.

Until, they died in a plane crash. They were heading overseas to a swimming competition when the plane crashed somehow. That ended my dreams in wanting to swim. I found my passion in dancing instead, never looking back at the swimming pool or the ocean. I became scared of any large bodies of water. Looking at even a _pond_ would set me off into a panic attack. Water and rain reminded me of how my parents passed on and left me behind all alone.

Until today. I had been having therapy with Levy’s mother who was a psychiatrist. She had been in charge of my case since I was young which was how I was friends with Levy even before Gajeel and I moved to Fairy Tail Academy. For the last few years, we’ve been discussing ways for me to overcome my fear. It started off small and started making its way to larger amounts of water, like a paddling pool. This would be the first time I’ve actually decided to come back to a swimming pool and I was kind of nervous doing it all by myself without Gajeel, Levy or her mother.

I don’t really know why I wanted to do it today without any mental and emotional support. Maybe because I was in awe at the fact that if Natsu could go back to dancing after his best friend who was also his dance partner died, I can go back to swimming. It was finally time for me to overcome my fear.

I had on my blue one piece swim because I wasn’t a fan of bikinis at all. I always felt like I was too exposed in them and I tried everything possible to make sure that I could cover up whatever needed to be covered up.

Levy had bought me the swimsuit for my birthday when we were discussing actually getting me to a swimming pool. We were supposed to go together, but I guess we kind of forgot about it. I know that if I tell her I’m going swimming by myself, it could go one of three ways. She could be really happy and proud of me, angry that I didn’t invite her or extremely worried for my mental wellbeing, and I wouldn’t blame her for any reaction she would give me.

I pulled on my goggles before slipping into the water. It was cold and it made me shiver, but then I got used to it. I stayed in place for a little bit, trying to find a way to calm myself down. I could do this, I mean, I was in the water right now. Besides, it wasn’t swimming that killed my parents, it was the plane crash. I was okay. 

I finally warmed up and I started swimming a few lengths.. It had been a while and I felt so rusty with my swimming. I could feel that I really needed to work on my stamina by probably coming back once a week to improve myself. I stopped after my third length, trying my best to get some oxygen back into my burning lungs. The pool was pretty empty because of the time that it was, but the children’s pool with swimming lessons was very packed. I took the time to rest against the wall, letting myself float and take in all the chatter. The smell of chlorine was still the same, I could never forget it.

I found my eyes wandering to the next lane over and I was enthralled by the guy who was swimming. He looked so powerful as he swam quickly. His technique was amazing, overtaking others in the pool, rolling as he got to the wall like a pro. He didn’t need to stop and catch his breath like I did.

His arms were so strong looking and his muscles weren’t overly bulky. I found myself wanting to get back up to the level that this person was showing. I honestly wondered how good of a swimmer I would have been had I continued.. I sighed. There’s no point dwelling on the past.

When the man finally finished what seemed to be five lengths, he got to the wall and stopped there. He stood up in the shallow end and removed his goggles. I found myself turning away very quickly, my cheeks undoubtedly red. I had to try my best to make sure I wasn’t obviously staring at him. It was _Natsu._

I couldn't help but notice his now exposed chest and how defined his abs looked. I blushed to myself and tried to look away yet, but it was very hard. My eyes were drawn to him. His wet salmon coloured hair was stuck to head, but that just made him look even more enticing. I groaned mentally at how _good_ he looked.

Finally, I managed to pull my eyes away from him. I went to the wall and pushed myself off, starting with a simple front crawl. I realised that my stamina wasn’t really as bad as I thought and it was clear that it was from all the dancing that I do. The water felt cool and weightless and I couldn’t help but wonder why I had really given it up. Maybe because it was painful being here without my parents.

I lost count of the amount of lengths I had done before I decided to stop and catch my breath. I removed my goggles as I panted, trying to catch my breath. I could feel someone staring at me, and suddenly I was thinking that maybe it was Natsu. I turned my head and lo and behold, I was right. His black eyes were staring at me and I couldn’t help myself. I stared back at him.

"Juvia?"

I blushed and looked up at him. I didn't even have to fully extend my arm for me to be touching him. I nodded at him before standing to my full height. "Hey Natsu-san, Juvia didn't know that you swim."

He shrugged simply. He then lifted up the rope that separated our two lanes and I moved back for him to have some space. Now he was standing right in front of me, his chest bare. I bit my lip, trying my best to control myself from touching him. He had been sculpted so well by the gods. 

"Yeah, I found out that it's a really cool way to build up stamina. That and there was that one time I almost drowned and Gray would never let me live it down so I took up swimming lessons to make sure that never happens again.” He blushed as he was recalling that memory for me and I did nothing but coo at him, as though to mock him. 

“S-stop that!”

I cackled. It was so fun to rile him up. “Aww, but it’s so cute!”

He huffed and turned his head away from me as I took this as the time to ogle his body once again. He was so summer perfect and it made me really self conscious as to whether I too were hot enough to hang around with him. He was out of my league. I was that girl with the same amount of friends that a fork had teeth and I was quiet a good majority of the time. Our worlds just didn’t collide.

“Anyway, Juvia better leave Natsu to it.”

“Nah, I’m done anyway. I was just watching you.”

I stared at him with my mouth hanging open before he looked like he was getting flustered. “Because you know, you swim really well! I wasn’t being creepy or anything.” He started scratching the back of his head. It actually made him look really cute. I couldn’t believe he was watching me, but I took as another one of his compliments.

“It’s okay, Juvia understands and she thanks Natsu for the compliment. Well Juvia has done enough swimming for one day.” I looked at the poolside clock and I had actually been here for an hour and a half which was more than enough for the first day back to swimming after so many years.

"So should we go then? If you want, I can get you home."

I nodded my head at him and he held my hand as he dragged the both of us out of the pool. He didn’t let go even when we were out of the pool. I looked down at our hands and I blushed as we made our way to our lockers to get our stuff. I was only this close to him when we danced, but I guess that Natsu was a touchy person. He was the opposite of me, but I had no complaints. I heard an elderly woman that was next to us mumbling to her husband, "what a cute little couple. Remember when we were that young honey?"

I spluttered and was about to tell them that we weren't dating, but Natsu had to then step in. "Hehe, thanks."

My eyes widened as I stared up at him. Did he even know what he was saying?! Did he actually even know what being a couple meant?! I could feel my face turning red as I had to let go of his hand to unlock my locker. I thought I heard him grunt in annoyance, but I wasn’t too sure. I did miss the warmth his hand gave me, but I didn’t want to embarrass him.

"Juvia is going to change and see Natsu-san when she comes out, okay?" He nodded at me before I went to go and find a cubicle to change in.

As soon as I locked the door, I started gasping as though I couldn't believe it. It's only been like what, like two days?! I'm not going to find myself falling in love with any person who isn't Gray. As much as the guy hurt me, I can't really give up that quickly can I? 

"Hey Juvia? Are you done yet?"

I jumped at the sound of his voice outside my cubicle and I realised that I hadn't even dried myself down yet. "Erm, Juvia will be done soon!"

I started rushing to try and make sure that he wouldn't have to wait a long time for me. As soon as I was done, I had to mentally prepare myself before going out to face him. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and I was met with his face.

"You ready?" 

I nodded at him and he grinned. Kami that _grin_! Why does it seem to work wonders on my heart? As we walked out of the building and towards his car, he started talking.

"I was thinking that maybe if you're not tired, we can come back to mine and practice a bit more. I mean, we’ve got basically a full day tomorrow to rehearse and then part of Thursday to get this down now."

I nodded my head and was about to give him an answer when I remembered something. "Is Gray home?"

There was no way I was going to get a repeat of what happened yesterday. Anyone must think I'm stupid to let that happen again, which it won't. He frowned and shook his head.

"Nah, he went to go and visit his cousins. Probably sucking up to them for some money before his weekly allowance comes in from his dad. I would never know what that guy does with his money, but it’s probably wasted all on food."

I raised an eyebrow, for some strange reason, I was a little annoyed. I’m pretty sure Natsu already told me why he doesn’t live with any of them, but I had forgotten.

“Why doesn’t Gray live with any of them? Juvia feels like yesterday could have been avoided...”

Natsu gave me a one armed hug. "They don't live here in Magnolia and he doesn't want to move schools. If you think that arsehole is stubborn, just think of what his older cousins are gonna be like. They are from the same blood and shit like that. I’ve met them, they piss me off too."

I shivered involuntarily as I didn't really want to think about that. I smiled up at Natsu. His hand squeezed my shoulder as we finally got his car. He released me before heading over to the driver’s side. He was looking at me expectantly. He was still waiting for my reply. I nodded my head at him. 

"Might as well practice then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! So how was that chapter for you guys? I'm so sorry to keep you waiting for so long, I've been sooo busy and barely had any time for myself! Better late than never right? Thank you for reading this far and to all those who have left me kudos as well! I love ya!
> 
> Lolita-chan


	4. Chapter 4

I sighed in frustration as I angrily blew the strands of hair that was in my face. Why was I getting all the steps wrong? The dance showcase was tonight and I had overheard Mira-sensei talking and she said that there were going to be dance scouts! I need my steps to be perfect, but all I was doing was dancing with two left feet and bumping into Natsu.

"Juvia? Are you okay? Don't worry about it, we'll do fine by tonight, okay?" Gosh he was so patient! We both came in early this morning for our last rehearsal before the show tonight and I had literally done nothing right, which went against everything that we had done last night. Just as I was about to go and replay the music, Natsu hugged me from behind. I froze as he rested his chin on my shoulder, his arms around my waist. Many other girls may have already been used to this contact, and I was too. However, that was only when we danced. Whenever we weren’t in the middle of the routine and Natsu touched me like this, I wanted to melt away.

"What's wrong, huh? Why are you so stressed? You were amazing last night and now, well...not so much. What happened in the space of time that I dropped you off at home till we started dancing now?"

I sighed as he was gently whispering in my ear. I hoped that no one would come in here right now. Well it was only 7:30, no idiot comes to school as this time when school starts at 8:45. It was a very compromising position and while I did enjoy it, I didn’t want to be the talk of the school. Natsu was so patient and his voice being low and hushed, anyone would get the wrong idea.

"Juvia overheard that there will be dance scouts and Juvia is just stressed that she won't impress them. Dancing is the only thing that Juvia is good at and Juvia is aiming for dance school.”

"Liar, you're good at swimming.”

I smiled at that and shook my head a little bit. "But Juvia hasn't done that in a long time and she hasn't thrown her time and effort into it, unlike dance."

He was silent for a bit before he started getting me to sway with him. Both of his hands had moved down to my hips as he made them move in time with him. I didn't know what he was doing, but I went along with it anyway, my breath catching in my throat. I had no idea what he was doing, but all I know was that my body felt like it was on fire from his touch.

"Then don't think about it. Have fun, dance for now. Don't think about them, think about you and how much fun this is."

I swallowed the lump that was in my throat as I took his advice. How was he able to do this? How was he able to get me out of my funk and fill me up with hope when we hadn’t even been partners for that long? He held my hand as he twirled me then pulled me into his chest. I raised one leg and wrapped it around his torso before he threw me over his shoulder and spun me around. I felt so free and I decided to savour this moment. He was right. This was our final year in school, I had to enjoy  _ something  _ at least.

By the end of it, we were so sweaty and he grinned at me. "See? When you don't think about it, you're fucking amazing. Tonight, it's just you, me, the music and the stage. Don't think about anyone else and just dance."

I nodded my head as he released me as he glanced at the time, our eyes going wide. "Better go and shower before school starts then! See ya later!" I watched as he grabbed his bag and ran on and I smiled as I watched him leave. He was such an enigma and I could see why he was adored by everyone here.

"You two have really come a long way, even if it has been only three days. I'm impressed." I jumped at the sound of the voice from the other door and there stood Mira-sensei who was grinning at me and I blushed at her praise.

"Thank you Mira-sensei."

"That's alright Juvia. Do you know that ever since you started dancing with Natsu, he's been in less fights than ever before? He usually gets in 3 fights per class, but now he only gets in 3 fights per day! You're a really good influence on him in the short amount of time that you guys have come in contact with one another."

I realised that this was true. I mean, it had technically only been two days and I didn’t really believe that it was because of me that he decided to reduce his fights. Maybe there was another reason.

He had stopped getting a load of detentions and from what I heard, that was his second home. I heard about this one fiasco where he threw some hot sauce up anyone's nose who used to piss him off. That was about two years ago though. At the time, he was pretty much borderline crazy, and knowing what I knew now, it made a lot of sense. He had mellowed out since then, but he only used his fists to fight, not hot sauce.

"Does Mira-sensei know why that is? Juvia thought that Natsu loves to fight."

She sighed. "He really does. It was his way to vent when Lisanna died. When she died, he was nothing but the epitome of rage. It was his own coping mechanism to grieve, he just thought that the world was against him. Then he calmed down and just fought people because he realised he was strong. He just fights for the hell of it now. Ever since you guys started dancing, he cut down because he doesn't want to get hurt and then have to pull out of the show. In other words, he's doing it for you."

I blinked at her before I could feel the blood in my body slowly make its way up to my face where it stayed for a good while. What the hell was she insinuating?! That Natsu likes me or something?! It's only been three days, you don't like someone after three days!

Unless you're me who has 'loved' Gray since day one. That's probably why I am so freaky actually, it's just not normal! 

"Well...Juvia should go and shower quickly before school starts and everyone comes in." It was the best excuse that I had and she seemed to buy it for now as she dismissed me with a sunny smile. 

"I know you'll do well Juvia, you're my star pupil." My heart soared as my chest swelled with pride when I heard that. That was probably one of the nicest things I've ever been told, next to Natsu calling me beautiful that is.

I blushed at the memory as I grabbed my bag. I wasn't helping my case at all! Why the hell am I thinking about Natsu?!

I pushed the door, sighing as I made my way to the female changing rooms. I couldn’t dwell on the thought of yet another being the object of my affections and then turning me down.

~x~

All the dancers had been excused early so that we could set the place up. Well every dancer except from Gray and Natsu. Gray because he was no longer going to be there and Natsu because no one actually knew that he was going to be dancing, so he wasn't told.

"Juvia, why are you still going? I thought Gray pulled out of it?" I turned my head, surprised that anyone was even talking to me. I found the eyes of Jenny Realight staring into mine and I raised an eyebrow. She never spoke to me, so why start now? Unless she was mocking me about it.

"Juvia didn't drop out because she has a new partner. Juvia is still in the other dances and Juvia would like to still pass this class and not drop out." I watched as she rolled her eyes and whispered the words 'nerd' under her breath. I stuck my tongue out at her at the back of her head before I decided to leave to help with the set up.

Natsu wasn't in my current class and I didn't know what he was doing right now. I saw Lucy walking with Loke, but they were too far down the hallway for me to catch up and walk with them. Well there was that and I didn't really like Lucy much. It sounded evil of me, but I guess it's still the hate I had when I liked Gray. 

I just shrugged as I followed them to the same destination, only from a distance. That was when I noticed that someone with pink hair was standing outside of one of the classrooms. The guy was on his phone and he looked up as though he had realised that I was there before he grinned at me and tucked his phone away in his pocket. I smiled back at him, his grin being infectious.

"What did Natsu do that resulted in him being thrown outside of the class this time?" I rolled my eyes at him with a smile on my face, waiting for his excuse this time around. He just smirked at me.

"You know me, always doing something that the teacher hates. So I may have made some idiot kiss my arse this time around, who cares?"

I giggled at him. He put both of his hands in his pockets and leaned on the wall next to the door to his class. His eyes were watching me and I suddenly felt so exposed. Why was he looking at me like that?

"So where are  _ you  _ heading huh? Could it be that Juvia has finally gotten in trouble and is being sent to the principal's office?"

I shook my head, a smile still lingering on my face. "Natsu would like that wouldn't he? But no, Juvia is in no trouble. The dancers have to help prepare for the show tonight so we have to check last minute that props and outfits are okay and lighting and staging is fine. That and we have to make sure that the programme is alright. We're on last."

He nodded, still looking cool and I had to blush and turn my head away from him. "I have somewhere to take you after school and before the showcase. Wanna come?"

I raised an eyebrow, and turned my head when I felt that my skin had returned back to its normal colour. "Sure. Does Juvia get to know where?"

His eyes twinkled as he winked at me and shook his head. "Nah, that would ruin the surprise. Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill ya."

That hadn't even been on my mind so why the hell was he saying that?! Was he really going to kill me?! No, of course not. I shrugged my shoulders before leaving him with a smile.

"Sure, Juvia will meet Natsu at the school gates. See you later."

**Natsu's POV**

Man she's so beautiful, I can barely control myself around her. I can't actually remember the last time I bonded well with someone. She wasn't Lisanna that's for sure, but I didn't want her to be. Juvia was her own person and she was an amazing person at that too. Just because a friend of mine died doesn't mean I want all my future friends to be like her. I know that’s what many people would think.

Besides, the way I loved Lisanna was the same way that I would have loved my sister, if I had one. People thought we were dating, but honestly, they can think whatever they want because we knew that wasn't the case. It was the same way people thought I was dating Lucy when she came to the school as well. And people say that I'm stupid when they're the ones who keep on jumping to conclusions.

But Juvia, there was just something about her that I just couldn't place. Even from the first day she was introduced as the new girl. She just looked so cute when she was standing there next to Gajeel and he looked like she would never even say boo to a goose. That's why I don't think I can forgive Gray for what he did to her. All those harsh words thrown right at her face as though she wasn't there, even though she was standing right in front of him.

That pissed me off and it still does. I can't believe she was crushing on a guy like that. I wonder if she still does, because if so, that should be enough for her to rethink.

I'm not jealous am I? I mean, sure I've dated girls, but I was starting to think about it more and more since three to four days ago. That was when I first spoke to Juvia and then three days ago, she found out that I could dance and we did my favourite style of dancing together.

I couldn't believe that I was actually going to say this, but I'm glad that I got back into dancing and it's all thanks to Juvia. There was one thing that I knew and that was that I wanted Juvia to be my girlfriend.

* * *

I looked down at the girl walking beside me and I smiled down at her. She gave me what looked like a shy smile before gripping onto her books tighter. Sometimes, it would be really helpful if there was a sign above a girl to tell you if they liked you or not because I'm not one to read signals that were actions made by girls. Some of them were just so difficult. I couldn’t tell if she held some sort of feelings towards me or if she was genuinely shy.

"Does Juvia get a clue as to where we're going?" I shook my head at her and she gave me the cutest pout that I've ever seen in my life. I laughed at her but I don't think that she caught onto the fact that it was a nervous laugh. 

"Nah, it's a surprise, sorry." She shrugged her shoulders as though to show me that it didn't matter that much and I just grinned.

"So, you said that you live with Gajeel, why's that? If you don't wanna tell me, I get it." She was silent for a while and I thought that she might not say anything, but then she heaved a sigh.

"Juvia knows about Lisanna-chan, so it’s only fair that Juvia tells Natsu-san about her family. Juvia's parents died in a plane crash. Juvia's mother was an Olympic swimmer and Juvia's father was her coach. They were heading to a competition in America before the plane crashed. It's kind of the reason why Juvia stopped swimming because maybe if they didn't have that competition, they would still be here. Juvia was just being stupid then, she thought that swimming was going to kill her."

She gave a bitter laugh as I noticed the tears were running down her face. She noticed me giving her a concerned look and she turned her head before trying to wipe her tears. "Don't look, Natsu-san."

I stopped her hand from moving and I wiped her tears myself with my thumb. She stared into my eyes as I stared into hers as well. Her pupiless eyes were a deep blue colour as she gently sniffed. 

"Hey, I think you look beautiful, whether you're crying or not, but you look perfect without those tears. I'm sorry I brought it up and made you cry. I didn't know. By the way, it’s not stupid of you to give up swimming because your parents passed away. Look what happened to me and dance. I learnt that people grieve differently. You’re hurt, not stupid."

She gave me such a bright smile as the tears were starting to dry up. "It's not Natsu-san's fault, he didn't know. J-Juvia is grateful because she has someone like Natsu-san as a friend. No one could be any better."

She jumped into my arms for a hug and I wrapped my arms around her instantly. She was so cute and her words really made me blush, even though I don't really blush. Her hair smelt so nice and I don't care if I was being weird, her hair was right there. This was way better than when we danced. I wasn’t able to hold her for too long before space started our next move, but she was in my arms here for longer than a beat count.

I had to end the hug because I still had somewhere to take her.

"Okay then, let's get going then!"

We continued on in silence and we got to the cemetery. Now Juvia had gone deathly silent as she stayed close to my arm. I remembered my little joke from before. "I'm not going to kill you Juvia."

"Of course Natsu-san wouldn't do that to Juvia. He might just bury her alive though." I laughed a little bit as we turned down some paths and made my way to the only gravestone I knew.

Lisanna's. We stood in front of it as I produced a bouquet of white lilies from my bag. For some strange reason, they were Lisanna's favourite. The only reason I'm saying it's strange is because she never told me why they were her favourite.

"Hey Lis. I brought a friend of mine to come and see you. She's really good at dancing, but she's kind of like you. She's modest and doesn't recognise that she's good as well. She also got me back into dancing as well y'know? Didn't think I was able to face the dance floor without you, but she somehow managed to become my good luck charm."

I looked out of the corner of my eye to see that Juvia was extremely red. I had to hold back my laugh because it would just ruin the whole mood. "But yeah, we have some dance production tonight and we're doing the tango. She's the only one talented enough to do it with me. You know what? You should talk to her."

Juvia looked surprised for a minute before she nodded her head. "Um, hello Lisanna-san, this is Juvia speaking. Juvia has heard so many good things about you and maybe if Juvia had arrived at the school earlier, she would have been good friends with Lisanna-san. Juvia isn't trying to take the place of Lisanna-san as she'll always be Natsu-san's original dance partner, but Juvia will try her best in order to honour Lisanna-san tonight. Oh and Juvia is sorry she has nothing to offer, this was just sprung up on Juvia."

She glared at me and I gave her an innocent smile as though I didn't know what she was talking about. We stayed there for a few minutes before I told Juvia to go. "I'm going to stay here a bit longer, you go and get ready for the show." 

I saw the sadness creep into her eyes before it was gone as quickly as it came. She gave me a smile. "Okay then, Juvia will see Natsu-san later. Juvia will see Lisanna later as well." She smiled at Lisanna's gravestone as well before patting my arm.

As soon as she was gone, Mira made her own appearance as well. She smiled at me before leaving a bouquet of white lilies. Said her own little prayer and I stood by, waiting for her to finish.

"I think that Lisanna would be extremely happy for you meeting Juvia. Although she never loved you like a lover, she loved you like you were her brother. She wouldn't want you to feel bad about anything."

I just nodded my head because even though it was true, I just couldn’t help myself. It was painful to lose a friend like that. I sighed before smiling.

"Yeah, I'm happy that I met Juvia too. There's just something about her..." Mira was the only one that I could talk to about things like this because I saw her as a sister as well. Plus, she knows a hell of a lot on what to do when it comes to someone that you're crushing on.

"I could tell that you like her. Well you know what? I say go for it. I know that Gray has already broken her heart, but you're not like him. I think she'll be happy."

Mira gave me a sisterly hug before I left her alone with Lisanna. I was going to take her advice. I was going to ask her out soon enough, but not too soon.

* * *

**Juvia's POV**

It's now evening time and the whole stage has been set. I could already hear the parents and the other kids our age taking their places while sitting in the audience. The dance scouts were probably out there themselves. No Juvia, it's not time to think about that. Just chill like Natsu told me to.

I was already in my first costume. Usually, Mira-sensei always has a theme to our dance performance, basically a little play but in the form of a dance. This time around, this whole dance production is about a girl with inner demons who finally finds love. In the first dance, I'm playing the girl with the inner demons. Mira-sensei had stated it wouldn't be fair on just having one girl play the lead, so all the girls will have a go. Well I got two gos because of the last dance with Natsu.

I felt something reach for my hand and when I looked at what it was, I noticed that Natsu was the one to grab for it. He flashed me a smile and I gave him one back. Suddenly, I wasn't even feeling that nervous anymore.

"Hey, good luck out there tonight okay?"

I nodded at him. He was only in the dance that I was doing with him because it would have been too much learning all the dances that Gray would have been in. Somehow I felt that Mira-sensei didn’t mean too much routine wise. It would have been a shock to his system, he would have to ease himself back into dance very slowly.

"Thank you, Juvia really needs it." 

He then started to produce something from his pocket and he held out my hand. "I got this for you. It's just like a good luck charm or some shit. I dunno."

He was blushing as he was putting it on my wrist and I blushed as well. It was such a cute little gesture that also meant quite a lot to me. He was so sweet. I gulped down my fears and hugged him.

"Thank you so much, Natsu-San."

I had half a mind to just stay here like this with him. With each hug I gave or received from him, I could feel myself falling a little more. The only reason we pulled apart was because we were all being called to take our positions on the stage. I smiled at him.

"Juvia will see Natsu later then."

I ran on in my ivory coloured dress. Many colours didn't really match my pale complexion, so it was either white or blue because of my hair colour as well. I crouched down behind everyone as they all did their impressive moves that wowed practically everyone. I looked up and over the stage and I could see Natsu grinning at me and it made me smile. He was so supportive.

I looked back at the dance before edging myself in without the crowd noticing. It was my turn now.

~x~

“So who are you dancing with then? It’s nearly the end of the show and your dance is next? Who are you dancing with and why is your costume looking so hot?!” Lucy was squealing in my ear and it was making my head ring. But she did just compliment my dress so I guess I have to be nice. I was putting on some lip gloss as she was looking at me through my mirror. I smirked at her before putting my finger to my lips and I winked at her.

“Lucy will see soon enough.”

“Do I get to borrow those stilettos any time soon?” I shook my head at her with a grin. These red babies were  _ mine.  _ She laughed anyway, not in the slightest bit offended or angry. “Haha, well it was worth a try! Don’t break a leg out there!” 

I watched as she went over to the snack table, probably hungry after her big dance with Loke. It was good actually. She wasn’t as stiff as she had been a few days ago, I guess.

I pretty much didn’t want to break my leg out there because that would mean not pleasing the dance scouts or not being able to finish my dance with Natsu. Speaking of which, he was walking towards me. He wore a simple red vest top but with the same silver designs to match my dress and he had on black shorts. All in all, he looked like he was going to the beach and not dancing with me.

“You ready?”

“Yeah, though Juvia is still a little nervous.” I started fiddling with the bracelet on my wrist, not forgetting that Natsu was the one that gave it to me. He held onto my hand before pulling me towards the stage. 

“I don’t know why, you’re a great dancer either way. Now let’s go up there and blow their minds.” I was suddenly filled with this fire that made me want to get on the stage and not care about anything. I was here to dance and that was what I was going to do. I was going to make sure that I danced my way through this whole thing. 

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Throughout the whole dance, I was pouring every bit of emotion into it. I would look at him directly in the eyes anytime I was facing him and he would look into mine. I would push my body closer to his and make sure every gap has been filled. I would take a sharp intake of air every time I felt his hand run over my leg. My hands ran over his biceps and I'm pretty sure I accidentally squeezed it, impressed with his strength.

Then I was thrown over his shoulder. His hands on my waist. Everything was just moving so quickly in time with the beat before I craned my neck for him to get at and I could hear the cheers of the crowd. I opened my eyes and I noticed that we were both done. Everyone was clapping their hands, giving us a standing ovation as well. Natsu held onto my hand as the rest of the dancers came out on stage with us. They were all surprised to see Natsu, but they couldn't comment on it now as we were all forced to bow and curtsy for the audience.

I looked up at Natsu and he grinned down at me. My heart started fluttering to the point where I thought I was going to die of a heart attack. I had to look back out at the crowd that was still cheering so that I didn't embarrass myself, then we were all heading off the stage. Soon enough, Natsu was jumped by the whole dance class that was surprised that he came back to dance.

"You were amazing out there!"

"Man, we don't know why you quit, that was sick dude!"

"Natsu's legendary hot tango dance!"

"Does this mean you're over Lisanna?" 

I watched them all as they were throwing questions at him, not even letting him get a word in. Lucy was the only one who bounded up to me, a grin in her face. I was surprised that there was no urge to roll my eyes. After all, it was her who gave me a partner to dance with. I was pretty grateful. 

"I told you Natsu would be a really good partner for you! I can't believe you guys both did the  _ tango _ ! You were amazing out there and you did it in those heels too! I’m so happy he changed his mind in the end, but you guys didn’t even tell me. I knew only you would be able to bring Natsu back."

I wasn't really expecting such words of praise from her, so I just blinked and gave her a small smile. I was rude to her for  _ nothing  _ and I felt ashamed of myself.

"Thanks a lot, Lucy. Juvia really appreciates it.”

“No problem at all.”

She threw me a simple smile of her own before heading off to go and see Loke. I looked back at Natsu and his fans were still crowding around him. In fact, because the production was now over, many female students who weren’t even in dance class were backstage trying to ask him out on a date.

I deflated as I felt a little bit of jealousy creep in. All these girls were pretty and I'm not, so I'm not even worth being an opponent. I'm nothing special. I caught his eyes for a brief second and it looked like he wanted to make his way over to me before I felt someone at my elbow. I turned around to see Mira-sensei with two women and a man. She was grinning.

"Juvia! I would like for you to meet the dance scouts, they were highly impressed with your solo dance and your tango act as well! Juvia here is a bright student, always a straight A student as well as throwing her everything into my class." I blushed from the attention that I received before the man spoke up.

"My name is Jason and I'm just going to come right out and say it. Your dancing is very cool! How would you like to dance on National TV?! Sounds cool doesn’t it?!" 

I was stunned as I nodded my head. Jason clapped his hands in excitement before spotting Natsu. "In fact, I want the both of you to do the tango because it was so cool. We have a national competition where dancers from around the country represent their school and city! Cool huh?!"

Mira had quickly raced off to go and get Natsu and I was suddenly left alone with these three people. Soon enough, I had Natsu standing by my side and he too was shocked by the whole thing. I was so tempted to grab his hand for comfort during the whole talk, but I was able to keep them by my side. Jason was then talking again.

"So what do you think?! Cool huh?" I swear he had said the word 'cool' over 50 times right now, ugh! What the hell? Anyway, it did sound really inviting. The only problem was if Natsu would do it.

"I'm in." His voice snapped me back to reality as I stared at Natsu in shock. Not wanting them to wait for my own answer, I nodded my head as well.

"Juvia will do it too."

"Excellent! Okay, we'll be in touch through Mira! Don't worry, you'll hear from us soon." The three of them were suddenly gone as Mira-sensei clapped her hands for us, as she was clearly excited for all this to happen.

"You guys were perfect out there! You deserve this. I loved your passion. Whether you were faking it or not, I found it amazing. The fire in your tango just gets to me every time! Thank you, you guys.” I just blushed and Natsu grinned as his arms around my shoulders and he wrapped me in a hug.

“What can I say? Juvia brings out the fire in me.” I looked up at him in surprise when I heard him say that. I wasn't quite sure if he was just saying that because he was in front of reporters and dance scouts, but when I looked up at him, he was staring right into my eyes. I didn’t know what it was, but it was like all the emotion in his eyes were trying to scream out at me. I felt so overwhelmed as I looked away, a warm feeling creeping into my heart. I had never really had a guy like me before, except for Bora, my ex who I found out was only dating me because I’m a virgin, so I never really knew what the signs were for a guy liking a girl. Was this a sign that he liked me in a way more than a friend?

The whole stage crew tidied up and I stood at the side, waiting for Gajeel to come and pick me up so that he could take me home. I looked over through the crowd and it was like he had had enough of waiting for me because soon enough, I saw him walking out of the door with Levy. I sighed heavily to myself, knowing I had to go home by myself now. He was too far away and there were so many people in my way. I guess he had gotten tired of waiting for me to say hello and thank you to all my many ‘fans’ who had enjoyed my dancing along with Natsu’s.

I wasn’t really in the mood to change and I had left all my warm clothes in Gajeel’s car, another thing that I was angry at him for. He couldn’t have at least brought it in here and left it backstage could he? It wasn’t the warmest of nights and I had no idea how I was going to get home now. The temperature was dropping slowly as it was the last few days of autumn before winter would soon arrive.

I stepped out into the cold and I could hear all the other kids with their parents, talking about how amazing the night was. I could hear mine and Natsu’s name fly out of people’s mouths more than once and I felt a silly smile make its way up on my lips. For once, I felt like I had been recognised for something that I had been waiting for just about forever to be recognised on. It was finally my turn to shine.

“Juvia, you’re going to freeze out here! Where’s Gajeel?”

I felt a jacket fall on my shoulders and I instantly warmed up, as though I was now sitting by a campfire. I turned my head and saw the object of my affections now standing by my side. He shoved his hands in his pockets and I frowned, feeling bad instantly.

“Gajeel went home. Couldn’t be bothered to wait for Juvia by the looks of it. Anyways, isn’t Natsu-san going to freeze as well?”

“Nah, it’s just a short little walk to where I parked my car. Come on, I’ll get you home. Stop looking like I just shot your puppy, I’m not even cold! The quicker we get to the car, I won’t be cold?” 

I knew that he was trying to give me different excuses as to why I should wear his jacket and I couldn’t help find it cute that he was trying his best to accommodate me. He was really a nice guy and I could see why it was easy to have a soft spot for him, or fall for him entirely.

“Fine then, because Natsu is being all cute about it, let’s go.”

We walked next to one another in peace and quiet, the silence not being uncomfortable at all. His car was nice as snug as well as being black with custom made flames on the side. Why am I not surprised, the guy himself was like fire and the way he danced the tango like that, he looked like a flame as well.

“You know what Juvia? I’ve been thinking about it and I think I want to get to know you a little better.”

I raised an eyebrow as he reversed and we were suddenly on our way. “What is Natsu even talking about? There isn’t really anything about Juvia to want to know. Natsu would be wasting his time.” 

As much as it hurt to say about myself, even I had to face the facts sometimes. I knew that I was just kidding myself with Gray and thinking that he was just playing hard to get every time he rejected me, but rejection does that to a girl. She becomes more aware of the things around her.

“Remember when we told each other that we were just going to be dance partners and our lives would go back to normal? Well, these past few days have been fun with you and I think it wouldn’t be the same to just slip back into some boring routine of fighting with some people. You’re a lot of fun.”

He quickly turned his head to grin at me before looking back at the road, leaving me to feel so embarrassed as to how easy he was complimenting me. 

“Plus, now we have to think of a new tango routine for this nationals thing, right?” 

He did a sharp right turn, as though he had forgotten the way to my house and he got a few angry horn beeps while he just laughed. I couldn’t help but let out a small smile of my own.

“If Natsu is insisting then. Juvia would love to get to know Natsu as well.”

We stopped at a set of red lights before we looked at each other. His eyes knocked the breath right out of me as he then smiled, making my heart stop for a little bit before beating again. I never felt this kind of emotion while I was busy being ‘in love’ with Gray. This felt a whole lot more different, as though it was pure.

“Great, I guess I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning for school then.” I looked up and we were suddenly at the home that I was currently sharing with Gajeel and I saw the front room lights were still on. Clearly Levy was still there as well and I groaned. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Juvia is going to be the third wheel as soon as she walks through that door. Fun.” 

I laid it thick with the sarcasm and Natsu just laughed. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Levy, hell no. She was my best friend and we still had this competition of our grades going on, but it was just a little annoying to see your best friend go out with the guy you call brother. I hated it a lot because the both of them started spending less and less time with me, ditching me for one another and I just felt so alone even when I had my two favourite people besides me.

“Hey, you wanna come back later?”

Natsu must have seen my face turn from playful to melancholic because he actually looked a little worried. I was about to answer him, telling him no that it’s a school night and I need to get home, but looking at the time on my phone, it was only like 9:15. I then changed my mind, knowing that if I went in there, Levy would be there for a long time, looking at how early it still was.

I nodded my head, grinning at him. “Yeah, sure, why not?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that chapter was okay for you guys! I know I haven't been keeping up to date with updating this story and I do apologise! I hope the chapter was enough as an apology! Thanks for reading. Please keep safe, clean and sane!
> 
> Lolita-chan

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys liked this first chapter so far! I don't really have an update schedule so I guess that whenever you see me update it when you get it lmao.
> 
> Lolita-chan


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